The Racha resort; Raya Yai island

Kaarem Wind chime white cropped top, Hien Le embossed alcantara shorts.

Wind chime taupe top by Kaarem, and silk petal grey skirt by Isabell de Hillerin.

Boatneck open back dress by Kaarem

Svilu tennis zipper skirt

Oiseaux lace white top by Bonheur, and suede alcantara surf shorts by Hien Le.

Garden top by Ace & Jig.

Marigold tent dress by Svilu.

All linked clothes available at A Boy Named Sue shop

Not the chic-est duo, Kit and I make. Definitely not the sort of fasshun bloggers seen skipping about the globe in un-creased maxi dresses and perfect hair + makeup, despite our overstuffed vanity cases weighing down the speedboat like cast-iron anchors. ‘OMG Kit, I think I’m blind’, are my first few words at Raya Yai Island – not proud of them, I know – thankfully Kit doesn’t hear over the sound of the spluttering motor and besides, her arms are flailing about trying to comb out the bird’s nest that is her hair. We’d chosen the seats at the very back on the motorboat out of the mainland, silently hoping to role-play an image of two long-legged blondes perched at the back of a Venetian speed boat (think Michael Kors resort)… then the sun-faded orange safety vests goes on + sea wind + water spitting back from the motor… you know the rest. Alas, I’m not blind. My eyes adjust to the new horizon and everything is white, the beach, the boardwalk, the Racha.

A hamlet of white-washed villas and neatly manicured tropics make up the Racha resort, set in a lagoon of the bluest, clearest water I’ve seen in my life. Gatorade Emerald-blue. There are only villas – no rooms – and the interiors reflect the same minimal aesthetics. The facilities encourage an eco-aware stay, a perfect backdrop for our suitcases that are full cute garbs from A Boy Named Sue – purveyors of eco-friendly, sustainable designers and of course, one of our generous hosts in the Far East.

We may be champions of un-chic but Kit and I have got some serious unpacking skills, one of the first signs of tiger mumhood, I fear – within an hour we freshen-up and make homes out of both villas. The energy spills into the rest of the day and by six thirty we wrap up shooting the remaining lookbook images. Kit charges out towards the ocean with her snorkelling gear, I give my private pool a dip and then join her at the beach, hair smelling faintly of Jasmine. The air is different and the sun set into the… cluster of palm trees behind the resort – not sure if it was East or West, it could’ve been Kanye West for all I cared.

Photography and editing by Park & Cube, photos of me by Kit Lee; Huge thanks to A Boy Named Sue and Mr & Mrs Smith for hosting us and the outworldly getaway! 

Indigo Pearl resort, Phuket

Bonheur ‘Serenite’ lace dress

Thu Thu Carbon cobblestone shorts

Isabell de Hillerin silk petal skirt

Thu Thu Orangina blouse; Zoobeetle Paris-HK pouch

Svilu Gardenia pocket tee

Kaarem Phi sleeveless top; Thu Thu majorelle Sapa skort

Kaarem Phi sleeveless top; Thu Thu majorelle Sapa skort; Zoobeetle Paris-HK pouch

Feral Childe ghost shift dress

Thu Thu khaki culottes with sapa

Feral Childe ghost shift dress

Thu Thu khaki culottes; Bonheur Oiseaux lace top

Svilu Gardenia pocket tee

All linked clothes available at A Boy Named Sue shop

Say Thailand to me and I’ll still roll my head back and gurgle ERMAGHERD IT WAS AMAZONG at you. It’s been a month now and words still fail me when I try to describe the whole experience. Well, words fail me specifically today because it’s the time of the month and all I can do is pirate noises, but you get my gist, one hardly needs vowels when describing paradise…etc.

I know the timeline on this blog is completely off as we venture into yestermonths and tick off events from bottomless backlogs, so let me explain: last month Kit and I had a brief stint in Asia with e-shop A Boy Named Sue and Thailand was part TWO of this (Hong Kong being part one -watch this space). We arrived in pitch-black Phuket on the last flight out of HK, still trembling from the stress of barely having made it in time for the plane. Our suitcases – a hodgepodge repacking job done an hour before the flight – rolled us out of the airport. At 28 degrees (82F), the air was sweet, and I felt the knots in my shoulders melting away – my first Thai massage, right there.

Technically, Indigo Pearl Resort is not so dissimilar to many European resort models (i.e Forte Village Resort in Sardinia) in the sense that it’s a closed-off compound paradise, but essentially even the air was completely different, and the sun rose from… the East. OK maybe not that different. Over our two nights’ stay we routinely got lost within the resort, discovering magnificent little corners which we couldn’t find again unless by accident… but the way to breakfast was as clear as if we’ve been staying for months, and by the end of it sawadee ka was rolling off our tongues as if natives. All the while, the A Boy Named Sue resort lookbook was shot, between all the wrong turns, the random dips in various pools and whatnot. Stayed tuned for part two at the Racha!

Photography and editing by Park & Cube, photos of me by Kit Lee; Collaborative project with A Boy Named Sue.